Cocktail of the Week: A Drink Fit for The Matrix

"We've got a regular. His name is Andy Berlin. He's one of those guys who can be a bit intimidating, but once he likes you he's really loyal. Andy's about 6' 5" [tall], big grey beard, dark hair... He's kind of a legend... He pretty much always drinks gin, but he's worked with a couple spirits and owns a tequila brand. So, about three months ago, he comes in on this really cold day wearing this sort of Matrix-style leather coat. It was nuts. He says to me, 'I want you to make a drink with tequila and velvet falernum,' and I thought to myself: That kind of makes sense. We had just gotten in the blanco and the reposado Partida, so I used two ounces of that 'cause I wanted it to shine, added an ounce of velvet falernum to round it out, and a couple drops of orange bitters for citrus as well as an orange peel. Apparently he thought it was pretty good. He's come back four times since (always with the jacket), and every time, I've tweaked the proportions a bit to end up with this version, which is spot-on. We called it the Berlin Wall 'cause the last time he came in, he looked like if you ran into him, you'd just get ricocheted. The drink is bright and full of depth. It's perfect for a man who looks like he's carrying a shotgun under his coat yet throwing sushi parties in the evening for Charleston's elite.

Whenever we shake a cocktail here, we double-strain. First with a cocktail strainer, then we hold a fine net strainer to catch any small ice that might come through and dilute the drink." —David McCarus, FIG, Charleston

The Berlin Wall

2 oz of Partida Reposado Tequila (or Espolon)

.75 oz lime juice

.75 oz John D. Taylors velvet falernum

A few dashes of angostura orange bitters

Orange peel

Shake it hard and double strain. Serve up in a coupe with an orange peel.